Lady's Bedstraw
by Webster
Summary: A tonsillectomy has Dean recovering alone and voiceless in a motel room, while Sam pursues a case that can't wait. Luckily, they have instant messenger and text messages, so we can read all about the case-in the Winchesters' own words!


A tonsillectomy has Dean recovering alone and voiceless in a motel room, while Sam pursues a case that can't wait. Luckily, they have instant messenger and text messages, so we can read all about the case-in the Winchester's own words!

* * *

><p><em>From the archives of Sam Winchester's primary cellphone.<em>

Sent:  
>7:58 am 0321/12  
>*Time for meds*<p>

Received:  
>8:03 am 0321/12  
>*You know, sam, i actually can read a clock. And don't text and drive!*<p>

Sent:  
>8:36 am 0321/12 *  
>Getting gas. 70 miles out.*<p>

Received:  
>8:39 am 0321/12  
>*Better get premium.*<p>

Sent:  
>8:39 am 0321/12  
>*Got premium, checked the fluids. Chill.*<p>

Received:  
>10:04 am 0321/06  
>*Maid came by with more blankets and soup. Think she likes me.*<p>

Sent:  
>10:10 am 0321/06  
>*TMI*<p>

**Chat with KAZ2Y5**

AIM IM with KAZ2Y5 03/21/12 12:20 PM

How are you feeling, Dean?

_I'm FINE, Sam. I took all my meds, and I don't have a fever, and my mouth isn't bleeding._

Hey, a tonsillectomy is a big deal in an adult.

_Trust me, we've both been through worse. Without good drugs or popsicles._

Yeah, well, you should have seen how you looked a few days ago.

_Okay, that doesn't even make sense._

Drink some more water.

_YOU drink some water._

I'm drinking coffee, and you can't have any.

_I hate you._

So I went by the police station this morning. 3 women vanishing in 3 months. The cops are thinking serial killer.

_You know, maybe you should wait for backup._

Dean. If the pattern holds, another woman will disappear TOMORROW NIGHT. You just got out of the hospital. I'm not dragging you out of bed, and I'm not waiting for you to get better. I can handle it.

_Why don't you call in somebody_

Like who? Bobby's on the other side of the country, and I don't see anybody else jumping up to help us. Just listen, Dean.

_I'm listening, but, oddly enough, all I hear is the TV._

Whatever, Jerk. It sort of fits the serial killer thing. All of them were women in their twenties. All of them vanished on the night of a the new moon. Beyond that, though, I can't find any pattern to the victims.

Wait. None of them were married. Maybe we've got a dragon on our hands.

_You've got the sword, right?_

Yes I have the sword. Going to check their homes now.

**3:40 pm**

Scratch dragon off the suspect list. One woman lived with a boyfriend, another one had just moved out.

_Damn. Dragons are cool._

This isn't funny, Dean. We've got like thirty hours here.

_Okay, chill. Tell me about the homes._

Um. Annie lived alone, small apartment above a store. Apartment's still empty, I broke in, her stuff was there, nothing occult. Took some pictures, hold on, I'll send you all of them.

_How many did you take?_

25, between the 3 homes.

_Okay, did you talk to anybody?_

Sarah Fishman's housemate. Said that they watched TV together, went to bed, and when she woke up, Sarah was gone. All her stuff was there, car in the driveway, no phone or computer activity, no suspicious or fearful behavior before she disappeared, roommate didn't hear anything during the night, nothing broken or disturbed.

_Like she just got up and walked out. Will o'the wisp?_

Will o'the wisps don't usually kill on a schedule. And they don't lure people from indoors. And it's time for your meds again.

_Got your pictures. Looking. Took meds._

**4:13 pm**

_All three places have the same plant outside, growing under the vic's window. The yellow thing, right side of picture number two._

You're right. Lemme look it up.

**4:19**

Bad news. It's lady's bedstraw. Associated with a pagan goddess, Frigg.

_What kind of name is Frigg?_

Norse. Fertility goddess. Lemme check something else.

**4:27**

I just called the nearest women's health clinic. Said my wife's pregnant and we need to find a doctor. They're booked solid for the next five weeks and directed me to a place in the next county. Bumper crop of pregnancies, all showing up in the last three months.

_Think any of the vics were pregnant?_

Autopsy reports didn't mention it. None of them were married or had kids, though.

_Didn't some pagans have different definitions of "virgin"?_

Women who weren't wives or mothers. You may be on to something. Still, it's not much of a profie.

_Not enough to find the next victim. But could they be lunch for that Friggin' bitch?_

Probably are. But what's she doing here?

_Making babies._

Dean!

_Hey, maybe you can use that plant to try to ID the next victim. Maybe it's like those wreaths._

The meadowsweet wreaths, that Mr. and Mrs. God were using to pick victims a few Christmases ago? Maybe. Or maybe it's a calling card. Maybe the plant didn't grow until after they were taken.

_Worth a try._

Driving all over town looking for a plant? Don't think I have the time.

_If you were a goddess, where would you hang out?_

Probably in a nice normal looking house, with white curtains, and a few stray body parts in the basement.

_You think maybe somebody summoned her?_

Yeah. Somebody who wanted a baby. Going to make more calls now.

**4:48**

Well. The nearest infertility specialist is in a patient drought. Surprise surprise.

_Aw, how sweet._

Anyway, I think I'll break into their files tonight. See if there've been any miracle babies lately.

_If there's more than one?_

The first? The most unlikely? The most desperate?

_One or the other, I guess._

Well, gotta wait at least an hour or two. What have you eaten today?

_Oh, three or four cheeseburgers. What do you think?_

DEAN

_The maid brought soup and jello a couple hours ago. Got pudding for later. You eat?_

Grabbed a snack. Should prolly get dinner while I have the chance. Later.

**7:29 pm**

In the fertility dr's office. Reading files.

_You know, I would have sworn there was nothing less exciting than leafing through a filing cabinet. But there is._

Do you mind?

_Sorry, are you unable to ignore the "message" icon long enough to get anything done?_

He's seen 267 different patients at this office alone in the past six months. SHUT UP.

**7:46 pm**

_POKE_

Do you want to do this?

_Just an idea. If the miracle baby is in that doctor's records, she's probably not the perp._

Huh?

_If she knows she got pregnant through supernatural help..._

She's not going to come back here. Pretty smart. Okay, I'm looking for a patient from the victims' neighborhood who stopped coming three months ago. It's still going to take a while. Why don't you get some rest?

_I've been dozing on and off. Let me know as soon as you find something._

Computer sound off?

_Yes, Nurse Ratchet. Not having any fun here, I promise._

Make sure the sound is on on your second phone only.

_Sam. Read the damned files._

**10:07 pm**

This one looks interesting. Lives within a mile of all three vics. Bad scarring on both fallopian tubes, five in-vitro fertilization cycles, two miscarriages, one of them at fourteen weeks. That was a little more than four months ago. She was referred for counseling. Scheduled for a sixth cycle, never showed up.

_And all that means?_

Um, she was really desperate for a baby, but nothing was working. And then she vanished. Wait, lemme check one more thing.

Crap. Looked at her Facebook. She's pregnant. Due in about six months. And her fertility specialist knows nothing about it.

_Sounds like you got a suspect._

What the hell are we going to do with a pregnant witch, Dean? I can't kill her.

_Well, maybe she did it by accident._

And if she deliberately summoned a people-eating god?

_Look, however it got there, you still gotta find it. Concentrate on that._

And figuring out how to kill it.

_I'm thinking mistletoe. (link)_

You've got a point. But where am I going to find a sprig big enough to stab someone with?

_Plant store?_

It's March, not Christmas time.

_Eh, you're a smart boy. You'll find it._

Okay, now how do I find the monster?

_Suspect's basement?_

Worth a try. I'll take a look at the place tonight, then check it out tomorrow. Later.

_Address?_

Oh. Denise Wildman, husband Hal Wildman, 122 Clarisse Blvd. And I'm not going inside tonight.

_Dude, if you're not armed with mistletoe, don't even get out of the car._

**10:15 pm**

You left the chat by logging out or being disconnected.

Recieved:  
>10:48 pm 0321/12  
>*Where are you?*<p>

Recieved:  
>11:02 pm 0321/12  
>*Fucking answer sam!*<p>

**Chat with KAZ2Y5**

AIM IM with KAZ2Y5 03/21/12 11:15 pm

I'm fine

Relax, Dean. Sorry I didn't hear the phone.

_Because the ringer was shut off, because you were prowling around Creepy Denise's house._

They were already in bed, didn't see anyone who looked like a goddess. I'm going to hit up some plant stores tomorrow, then check out the house. Eat something, take your antibiotics and go to bed, Dean.

_Bite me._

Bite dinner.

You left the chat by logging out or being disconnected.

Sent:  
>7:55 am 0322/12  
>*Time for meds. Found mistletoe, its too wimpy for stake.*<p>

Recieved:  
>8:06 am 0322/12  
>*Took meds. Im me?*<p>

**Chat with KAZ2Y5**

AIM IM with KAZ2Y5 03/22/12 8:11 AM

Now, we gotta figure out how to turn four feet of spindly vine with little berries into a weapon.

_Pack some in a shotgun round? Or load a pistol with a blank and stuff it in the barrel? Rub it on a knife? Feed it to her? I mean, the berries are poison._

Not that poisonous. Tie it on a crossbow bolt? Stab her with a knife first, and jam the plant in after? Tie it to a rock and hit her with the rock?

_Huh. Can you get to a hardware store?_

Probably. Why?

_Buy some heavy duty quick-drying epoxy, and see if the shop has a UV lamp you can use to set it. If not, a dentist's office might have a UV epoxy dryer._

?

_Cut some square sticks from the mistletoe, and tie them together in a stake shape. Use epoxy to harden it. Basically, you're making plywood. Ask the hardware guy for help. The right epoxy will set in just a few minutes, if you don't use too much._

_I know, you're in awe of my skillz. Make sure you carve out a point before you epoxy near the tip, or you'll need a freaking band saw to sharpen it._

Hardware store's just up the street. BRB.

**10:16 am**

Got the stake made.

_Don't try to punch through ribs with it, it could be kinda brittle still. Aim for the liver._

Going now

_Bring other weapons!_

Will do.

**2:25 pm**

Okay, I searched the Wildman's house, and, there's no gods hiding out or dead bodies. Found a creepy book and what looks like ritual propaganda in the cabinet above the fridge, though.

_In the kitchen cabinet? Well, from anyone but you, that would be a good hiding place._

Yeah, it was kind of eye-level. Looked through the book, apparently it's a really old translation of something even older, and it contains a ritual to summon Frigg, the Scandanavian goddess of fertility. It says the ritual needs to be performed on the night of the new moon, every month until: "The child thus begotten quickens to life."

_Quickens?_

According to the Medieval Church, life didn't begin at conception, it began when the baby quickened, that is, when the mother first felt movement. These weren't Christians, but they may have used some of the same ideas. I mean, they couldn't exactly buy pregnancy tests at Walgreen's in those days, and sometimes the baby moving was the only way a woman could really be sure she was pregnant.

_Okay, so?_

Denise will probably have to repeat the ritual at least twice more. For what it's worth, she may genuinely not know what's going on here. The book isn't real explicit on the side effects of the summoning: "While she dwells among you, the wombs of women shall give forth life like a rushing spring gives forth water, but Frigg serves the Balance, and a price must be paid."

_And Denise didn't bother to ask what that price was. What's the plan?_

I put everything in the house back the way it was, and I'm going to wait for her to start the summoning. Then I'm going to stab her.

You left the chat by logging out or being disconnected.

Sent:  
>11:48 pm 0322/12  
>*Killed monster. Fubar. Hal dead. Now denise knows the price.*<p>

Recieved:  
>11:51 pm 322/12  
>*Sam come back now*<p>

Sent:  
>11:56 pm 322/12

*One more job 2morrow night. Take meds.*

Recieved:  
>11:59 pm 322/12  
>*Come on back*<p>

Sent:  
>12:06 am 323/12  
>*Soon*<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Local Man, Jane Doe Killed in Apparent Home Invasion<strong>

_Newswire, 3/23/12_

Last night, Hal Wildman died in his home, along with another individual. His wife Denise Wildman, who witnessed the incident, claims the strange woman broke into the home, possibly intending robbery, and assaulted them. Thus far, authorities have been unable to identify the alleged assailant, who is described as female, blond-haired and 5'11". Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the police...

**Morgue Break-in and Fire**

_Newswire, 3/24/12_

In a bizarre twist on last week's bizarre fatal violence, an unknown person broke into the morgue last night and set fire to the body of an unknown woman suspected of killing Hal Wildman. No one was injured and damage to the hospital is minimal, but police say there is little hope now of identifying the woman. "It's sort of sad," offered Sheriff Rodriguez. "Whatever she did, I bet there's someone out there who misses her."

**Storm Fills Maternity ward**

_Newswire, 10/04/12_

Tropical storm Nadine brought a record number of births at Memorial Hospital: 27 over two days, following an already busy few weeks. Obstetrician Sondra Clark took time out from her busy week to talk to our reporters.

"A tropical storm or hurricane, or any other extreme low pressure system, can easily trigger labor in a pregnant woman near term. We always get busy here in bad weather," the doctor explained. When asked why the the ward has been unusually busy all fall, she replied, "Pregnancies often come in clusters."

Two mothers were cut off by flooding and downed power lines and had to deliver at home, in one case without medical assistance. Following their hair-raising arrival, however, both mothers and their new sons are doing well. Click here for the full story.

Fleet Street Elementary is already preparing extra classrooms for the fall of 2017. It will be the school's largest kindergarten class in 60 years.

**Still No Answers for Missing Woman's Family**

_Newswire, 1/23/13_

Annie Strazinsky disappeared a year ago today, leaving behind many questions and few answers. In that time, no new information has emerged, leaving her family with little hope and no chance for closure...


End file.
